BioShock: Peculiar Objects of Interest
by Doomsdaydev
Summary: Rapture has some pretty weird stuff in it, but some more than others. This is a story about Jack, some of the stranger parts of BioShock, and some non-canon stuff thrown in for good measure. OC warning. NEW CHAPTER UP HOLY CRUDCAKES.
1. Power to the People

Jack, our protagonist, was making his way through the bowels of Rapture, when he was intrigued by something. As he dispatched a leadhead splicer with a face-full of buckshot, the former splicer's corpse came to rest at the bottom of a very peculiar looking machine. Jack stepped up to the machine, and noticed its title; a rough looking banner that read "Power to the People". Jack, who had recently entered Rapture, decided to ask Atlas about it.

"Atlas, could you tell me what this machine does?" asked Jack.

"Which one, boyo?" Atlas replied.

"The one right in front of me."

"…I don't exactly have all seein' eyes, laddie. Tell me the **exact** name of the machine, okay?"

"…Right. Anyway, it says, "Power to the People", and its got some weird tube under the name. Do you know what it is?"

"Oh! That be a weapons' upgrading machine, laddie! Those are the best!You can upgrade a weapon with it, and the best part is that it's free!"

"That's…That's great!" Jack exclaimed. "Wait… another question, when were they put here?"

"They were installed at Rapture's birth, of course. Always been there, always will."

"So you're saying that people have always been able to modify a deadly weapon, at no cost?"

"That's right."

"…"

"Jack?"

"…It's just... How did people ignore this? How would something this dangerous go unchecked?"

"It's because…err…look, lad, don't question the dang thing, just-"

"If this has been here since Rapture's birth, no _wonder_ this whole place went to hell! Anybody could get a weapon, for free!, and nobody would care?!

"Look, I-"

"It also says here it was made by "Fontaine Futuristics. I've no idea who that is, but he must have been a real bastard, to let something like this into the public."

"…Alright, would you kindly forget about the damn thing?!" Atlas snorted.

"…Forget about what?" Jack asked.

"…nevermind."

So, Jack continued on his way, bring death and destruction to any man or machine that dare get in his way (save for the Little Sisters, of course).

* * *

**So, there it is. I've always wondered about those things, so I imagined up a conversation between Jack and Atlas explaining it. Please R&R, as it is my first story. I promise to have more chapters up soon.**

**Atlas: I'm fine with that, lad, as long as you don't make me say anythin' embarrassin'. This don't look too good fer me, laddie.**

**Shush.**

**Atlas: Don't "Shush" me, lad-**

**_SHUSH, I SAID!_**


	2. The Circus of Value!

**So, here we go. I am currently without a single review for this story, so I am taking a plunge and writing more whether people want me to or not. Also, note that these stories go out of order in terms of sequence. I don't really care if Jack finds one thing before he is supposed to, I am writing this for fun. One final note, I often use a third person omniscient (if you don't know what that means, there's a dictionary on this site. Look it up.) point of view. Enjoy, (or I'll piss off a Big Daddy and blame it on you)**

* * *

So, we join Jack once again, fighting his way through Rapture, when he hears something. It sounds like a laugh- a maniacal, electronical, and _annoying _laugh. So Jack, for reasons unknown, _heads directly towards it_. Luckily for him, it was not a crippled splicer that had to use a voicebox to speak, but it was something just as strange. A vending machine. With a clown on it. That talks to you.

"-da' heck is this?" Jack mused to no one in paticular.

Just as he reached out tentatively for the machine, it let out an ear-piercing screech.

"WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF VALUE!!!" it declared.

Startled, Jack swore "Jesus!-" and fell backwards onto the hard ceramic tile. "For Chrissake..."

Meanwhile, the machine kept playing that annoying music over and over. It obviously had been damaged somewhat, as it seemed to repeat forever.

After 60 seconds of trying to actually _purchase _something from the machine while listening to that god-awful music again and again, Jack finally snapped.

"ALRIGHT, YOU STUPID VENDING MACHINE FROM HELL! PREPARE TO BE ANNIHILATED!" Jack screamed as he kicked and punched the machine. As a result, it fell over, and began to speak on an endless loop.

"WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS-WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS-WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS-"

"GAHHH!" Jack yelled. "EAT PLASMID!" this caused a nearby splicer to notice Jack, and, seeing Jack in his fury, decided to watch Jack, rather then attack him.

After exhausting every plasmid in his system, Jack decided to call Atlas.

Speaking with the most civilized tone he could muster, Jack asked, "Atlas, how do you shut these damn vending machines off?! This one is getting on my last bloody nerve!"

"Well... You don't, Jack." responded Atlas.

"...Explain. Now." replied Jack, still angry at the machine's voice that would NOT STOP TALKING!

"Well, Jack." Atlas stated, "It's because the vending machines are all indestructable."

"...What?..."

"Honest. When Rapture was first startin' out, a brillant mechanic developed a way to make any material indestructable. Everyone was excited about it, if course. But you know what Ryan has the man do first? He orders him to build all the vending machines in Rapture! "This way the people can recieve products in a safe and efficent manner, without fear of vandilism." he said. What a load of bull! And guess what happens next? The man dies from an electrical shock from his machines! But it turns out that only the lad knew how to make whatever it was that made things indestructable, so when he died, so did the secret process.

"..." Jack was dumbfounded by this. "...but I want to know how to turn the damn thing _off._"

"That's the thing, laddie. They're indestructable, so the mechanics could _never _open them up."

"That's...That's..." Jack was left speechless by the absurdity of it.

"There's nothin' you can do, lad."

"...You know what? Fine! I'll just leave!" Jack replied. As Jack walked past the vending machine, he turned and spat "Stupid machine. I hope you rust to death." and with that, he left.

A short time passes while the machine keeps playing the audio over and over. The splicer is still there, bored, when suddenly the machine stops talking. The splicer is surprised, and is even more surprised when he heard the machine say:

"HEY, I'VE GOT A FAMILY TO FEED!"

The splicer stares, then slowly walks away, chuckling behind his mask.

* * *

**Okay then. Anyone got anything to say?**

**Splicer: I JUST WANT TO TALK!**

**Dammit, not you again...**


	3. Vita Chambers

**Hey there! I bet you didn't expect a chapter up so soon, huh? Well, I'm never one to dissappoint. Enjoy.**

**P.S: I do not, nor will I ever, own Bioshock (because if I did I would put zombies in it).**

* * *

Things were not going too well for Jack. I mean, he's already trapped in Rapture, which is bad enough, but things get real bad, real quick when you have a Big Daddy who's mad as hell hot on you tail. Even more so if you have _two_. You see, Jack was just trying to kill a Nitro Splicer when it threw one of its smoke bombs. Jack, blinded by the smoke, fired randomly with his pistol in hopes of hitting the Splicer. Well, he hit something alright. A stray bullet hurdled through the air, and _pinged _off a Big Daddy's armor. Thinking that it was under attack, the Big Daddy became enraged, and, since Jack was the only person around (the Nitro Splicer had escaped), Jack was suddenly faced with a very angry Big Daddy. Jack only had a few pistol bullets on him, so, naturally, he ran like hell. Interestingly enough, the Big Daddy gave chase. This was probably because it had just lost a Little Sister to a splicer attack, and was feeling paticularly mournful, and just wanted to destroy something. So, anyone observing would see the quite comical sight of Jack running through various buildings with a Big Daddy hot on his tail. Jack, who was scared for his life, turned to look at his pursuer, and didn't watch where he was going. As a result, he ran straight into _another_ Big Daddy. As he fell backwards onto the floor, the realization of what happened dawned on him. At this point, the pursuing Big Daddy caught up with him. Jack, realizing that he was between two very angry Big Daddies, simply said what came to his mind:

"Oh, Fuck."

The Big Daddies then proceeded to fill him full of holes, and then Jack died. The Big Daddies, now satisfied, wandered somewhere else.

"...AHHHH!!!" Jack screamed, as white light surrounded him. Then, just a suddenly as the light appeared, it gave way to a normal view of Rapture. Jack stood still, stunned, and continued to stand even when the doors to the glass chamber he was in opened. Finally, Jack worked up the nerve to step outside, where he found everything the way it was before: old, decrepit, and broken. After a few more seconds of stunned scilence, Jack decided to call Atlas.

"...Atlas, I swear I..."

"What is it, boyo?" Atlas questioned.

"...I just DIED, Atlas! But I'm alive! How...How..?"

"How is it possible, laddie? What you were just in is a Vita-Chamber. It takes any recently dead material and make a copy of it. It's amazin', don't ya think?"

"Yeah... but why doesn't it work for splicers, then?"

"I dunno, lad. Could be a glitch in the system. Besides, them splicers were never really alive in the first place."

"It makes sense, I guess."

"Now don't worry about it, lad. Besides, you need ta' keep goin'. My family is just up ahead."

"Alright, I'm going." Jack concluded.

The path towards the submarine that had Atlas's "family" in it took Jack past the same Big Daddy that had originally given chase to him. After observing the Big Daddy for a while, and noting that his corpse was there, Jack came up with an idea. After some careful thought, Jack decided to use his idea.

"RAHHHH!!!!" Jack shouted, rushing the Big Daddy with a wrench (he was out of bullets). Now, as you would expect, a wrench doesn't do much damage to a Big Daddy. So, that is precisely what happened. Jack got two, maybe three good swings in before he was killed again. As he respawned in the Vita-Chamber, a devious smile grew across his face. "Works like a charm." he said. So, he then proceeded to travel back towards the Big Daddy, and would repeat the process, hitting with his wrench, getting shot, and dieing, until finally the Big Daddy fell. "Yeah! How about THEM apples, huh!?" Jack shouted, overcome with glee. So, Jack looted the corpse and continued onward towards the submarine. Meanwhile, the Nitro Splicer that had escaped was wandering quite contently, until he stumbled upon the battle scene. There, he saw what looked like a pile of corpse, all clones of each other, next to a deceased Big Daddy. The splicer simply stared for a while, and then went running off, screaming at the top of his lungs.

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**Well, there you go. Hope you had fun reading the chapter. Remember, R&R, and I'll try to get more chapters up soon. So, who is going to speak in THIS chapter's Author's Notes?**

**Nitro Splicer: AHHH!!! DEAD CLONES!!! DEAD CLONES!!! DEAD CLONES!!!**

**_Sigh._**


	4. Audio Diaries

**I don't own BioShock. Never will. (though I do own Anne.)**

* * *

Audio Diaries. Rapture's full of them. They can be of the most trivial things, or the most important. But how did they get there?

**"...remember to get eggs, milk, beef, and flour at the Farmer's market, dear.**" _click,_ went the cassette. Jack sighed. "Well, that was bloody useless. That's about the fourth shopping list I've found." Jack recalled as he shoved the cassette into his pocket. "Honestly, I don't even know why I carry all these things around. Force of habit, I guess. Thank God I'm wearing these extra-large cargo pants. I can just shove them in. But seriously, how do they all fit in there? I wonder if-" _BANG! _went the gun of a nearby splicer, who had managed to sneak up on Jack. "GAH!" Jack yelped in pain, "Dammit, don't sneak up on me while I'm thinking!" After a few well-placed bullets, the splicer's corpse fell limply to the ground. "I'm getting careless..." Jack mused. "Anyway, what was I thinking about? Oh, right, these things." he said, hefting one in his hand. "I wonder where they all came from. Hmm..." Jack wondered, "I don't know. I guess I'll ask Atlas." The radio crackled to life as it established a connection to the Irishman. "Atlas, I've got a question."

"What is it, boyo?" Atlas quieried.

"Where did all these Audio Logs come from?"

"Well, lad, they were a lot faster than using pen and paper."

"No, I mean, how did they _get _here? I just found a shopping list in a safe. It's obviously not meant to be here. So, what gives?"

"That, lad, is still a mystery to me. Personally, though, I think everyone was drunk and forgot where they put the things."

"...Drunk?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Yes, drunk. Have you _seen_ the amount of booze around here? It's like Rapture is one big bleedin' distillery!"

"I'll admit, I have seen a lot of alcohol laying around, but... I don't think it was the booze."

"Whatever, laddie."

"Alright." and with that, Jack continued on his way. It wouldn't be until later that Jack found the **true** source of the Audio Diaries...

* * *

Jack was sneaking along, doing his weird hobble-walk when he heard the crashing sound of some small object falling. Warily, he peeked around the corner to where he heard the sound. He saw the back of a slightly strange Spider Splicer (Well, not to say that all Spider Splicers aren't strange) at a table fumbling around with some object that Jack couldn't discern. She had the slightest tinge of color to her otherwise pale body. Nevertheless, Jack was slowly lined up the shot when he heard in a feminine voice, "Please don't do that." Jack was shocked. The Splicer, without ever turning around, had known he was there. Even more, she was _talking_ to him, rather than attacking like most would have. "You can come out now. I know you're there." said the splicer. Tentatively, he nudged around the corner. "You won't attack?" he asked cautiously. "I promise." she replied. Jack was still wary, but he stepped out into full view. "So," he asked, "who are _you?_"

"I...don't really know, per se." she admitted. "But there is only so long that one can use the pronoun to address me, so you may call me Anne." she said with flat note in here voice.

"My name is-"

"Jack. I know." interrupted the newly named Anne.

"...okay. How do you know that?" he questioned.

"I've been observing you." she stated. Jack, who was slightly disturbed by this, said:

"...Alright. Why?"

"To put it quite frankly... I was getting bored. Do you realize how lonely it is for someone down here that is not insane? In fact, my little game of mine is what's kept me sane."

"Oh? And what's the game?"

"Hiding these." she said, showing Jack what she had been holding. It was an audio diary. "I've found hundreds of them. Some I keep. Others I put back with 'Creative Rearrangement', as I like to call it."

"So that means... _you're_ the one who puts these things everywhere?" Jack asked, holding up a random cassette tape from his pocket.

"Yes... that was me".

"Again, why?"

"Because it's so much fun to watch you discover things." and with that note, Anne disappeared the way most Spider Splicers do: crawling away on the ceiling.

"Wait!..." Jack exclaimed, but it was too late. Anne was long gone. As Jack turned to leave, he realized that Anne had left the Audio Diary that she was handling on the table. Ever curious, Jack hit the play button and, in Anne's voice, came: "**I look forward to seeing you in the future.**" Jack, just as mistified as he was at the beginning, shoved the cassette into his pocket and continued on his way.

* * *

**Well now, that's done. I thank LordSteelAnibus for the Audio Log idea. Also, tell me what you thought of Anne. She may be a reccuring character. Peace.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Oh, wait, I'm supposed to have a random character say one last line, right? Will Jack do?**

**Jack: What do you bloody want?**

**Nothing.**

**Jack: Stop bothering me.**

**Alright.**


	5. On the Origin of Splicers

**Disclaimer: I do not own BioShock. I do own Anne, and the splicer's names, though.**

* * *

Jack was making his way through Rapture, killing everything left and right (except the Little Sisters), as usual. A Thuggish Splicer here, a Nitro Splicer there, it all blends together. You start to see them less and less as people who went insane, and just see them as different forms of attackers. The Nitros will always have that wooden box and chuck grenades, the Spiders will always have claws that they throw. But why? Why are they all the same?

* * *

After what seemed to be an eternity killing the same damn foes over and over again, Jack finally met one that was different: Anne. A Spider Splicer who _wasn't _(completely) insane. So, when Jack had a question about the Splicers, he decided that Anne would be the best person to ask. After wandering around Rapture for the better part of an hour, Jack finally found her in Fort Frolic.

"Ah, there you are! I was looking all over for you." said Jack.

"Well, Jack." replied Anne, "Obviously you looked in all the wrong places."

"Do you have to be sarcastic every time we meet?" asked Jack, remembering their first few meetings together.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Yes I do."

"Once again, sarcasm."

"Did you have something you wished to talk about?" Anne said abruptly, changing the subject.

"Well, I- yes, yes I do. I really want to know the whole deal with the Splicers and why they are what they are."

"I believe the slang you might find most fitting is a "Junkie", correct?"

"No, wait- gah!" exclaimed Jack, confused. "Alright, yes, that word fits, but that's not my question. I want to know why nearly every Splicer can be classified. Why are there Thuggish, Leadheads, Nitros, Houdinis and Spiders?"

"Well, Jack." responded Anne, "The answer is a bit lengthy, so please, sit down." She guestured towards a decrepit stone bench. Jack took a seat while Anne remained standing. "Have you ever heard of the study of effects of popularity on decisions?"

"The what?"

"_Exactly_. Neither had I."she said, pacing back and forth. "It was led by a scientest, Dr. Isaac something, I forget. Anyway, the study proved that humans tend to chose what we see other people have. When we see someone wear a paticular style of clothes, for example, we are more inclined to wear those clothes because we saw someone else wear them. Very little originality, you understand? So, with each new generation of Splicer, they just copied themselves into what they saw with other splicers. Hence the never-ending supply of Spiders, Nitros, etcetera."

"So," said Jack, who was slowly comprehending this, "If what you're saying is true, than who were the original five? Who were the original Thuggish, Leadhead, Nitro, Houdini, and Spider Splicers?"

"In this city, you may have to search far and wide for that answer. Fortunately for you, you don't have to move a muscle, because I," she explained, "know that answer."

"What luck." stated Jack, who honestly had expected anything less, given the mysterious nature of this woman.

"So, as for the first Thuggish type, you know what to expect. His name was Robby Demartive, and was one of Fontaine's hired muscle. He was made infamous within the underground by the horrors he committed with a lead pipe. He changed when he got hurt, and had to recover in a 'Back Alley' hospital that didn't supply ADAM. Without ADAM, insanity soon followed.

"Makes sense."

"Next, the Leadhead. Her name was Matilda Harris, an artisan. Some kind of barrelmaker, I think. She had become a recluse from everyone. She had a gun with her, so no one could do anything. They tried to deny her ADAM in an attempt to coax her out, but you can see how well that worked. The pistol must have been the first thing she used in her Splicer state."

"Damn."

"Now, onto the Nitro. This man was quite an enigma, but his name was Dylan Robbisphere. He was a real quiet, bookish type. Always followed the rules. A model citizen. He did have quite the odd hobby of bombmaking, though. That, and the 'accident' that haunted his past. I don't know for sure, but I believe that it involved his explosives. Anyway, one day he blew himself up with one of his bombs. The doctors managed to patch him back together, but the surgery took a large amount of ADAM to allow him to live. When he got out, he was addicted to such a high level of ADAM that he didn't last 24 _hours _before he went insane."

"Well, that explains the bombs. Now what about the Houdini?"

"The Houdini was first a magician for the Fleet Hall. His name was the 'Great Zachary Trimslov', if you read the advertisments. He was a rising magician who, under Sander Cohen I believe, had a pretty popular dissappearing act. But when the Plasmid came out that let you teleport, his act became worthless. Depressed, he overdosed himself on ADAM and became quite the raving lunatic."

"That's... kind of sad. So, who was the original Spider?"

"This one is the most interesting. I've heard that the original Spider Splicer was quite the odd lady."

"Oh, and who was that?"

"Me." she stated.

"...Why am I not surprised?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"So now is it my turn to tell you to stop with the sarcasm?" Anne asked.

"Suppose so. Goodbye, Anne."

"Goodbye, Jack." she said as she started to leave. "Don't forget to look for more Audio Diaries!"

"Would I ever?" Jack smirked. Of course not, thought Jack. They were important.

And shiny. Very Shiny.

* * *

**So, what did you think? I attempted to give a little backstory on where all those lookalikes for the types come from, and the idea just came to me. As always, R&R!**

**Anne: Yes, please do.**

**Hey, look who joined the Author's Notes! How are you?**

**Anne: ...I don't think I need to be here anymore.**

**Hey, don't go.**

**Anne: Goodbye.**

**Daggnabbit.**


	6. Bees and unpleasant effects

**Alright, I'll admit it: Last chapter was nothing less than filler. I apologize. This time, I will focus on more humor, okay? Great. Enjoy.**

* * *

Become Bigger. Better. Unique. This is what plasmids offered you. It's what they gave, too. Fire at your fingertips! Freeze your foes! Telekinisis! Extrodinary things, they were. Jack thought so, as he progressed ever faithfully through Rapture. He had gained many a plasmid from the "Gatherer's Garden" machines, after freeing the Little Sisters from the slugs and gaining the meager amount of ADAM that could be taken. He could never forget the first feeling of plunging the icy-cold needle into his skin. The pain. Oh god, the pain. But it was worth it. Every single second, worth it. Jack thought as he cycled through his array of Plasmids. Jack was amazed at how the simple difference in hand movement resulted in different powers. At first, he had trouble remembering the different positions. On one memoriable occasion, when he went to shoot a bolt of lightening at a foe, he made a mistake and ended up in telekinisis form. He had grabbed a beer bottle and, when it flung towards him, had hit the Splicer on the back of the head, killing it. But soon, Jack had become a master at Plasmids, switching back and forth between them with the grace of a dancer.

"This just gets too easy." he stated after dispatching yet another Splicer. "Electrobolt, gun, burn to tender crisp, gun, hit with suitcase, more gun. Hehhehheh." he chuckled. Shortly after, he stumbled on a Gatherer's Garden. "Wonderful, I have some ADAM to spend. Let's just see how much I have... 80 units, I see. Alright then, I'll pick... wait, 80 units of what? How is ADAM measured, anyway? I just put the stuff into vials." _Sigh. _"Another one for Atlas, I guess. I've been asking the man too many questions lately, haven't I?" Jack asked to no one in paticular. Strangely, Jack thought he could hear the faintest whisper of _yes _from somewhere in the ventilation system. "...Anne? Nevermind... Anyway," Jack said, "Let's see... hmm... do I take the whirlwind, or the bees? I know! I'll flip a coin!... I WOULD, if all the money wasn't in bill form. Dang. Sooo... Ah, what the Hell. Bees it is." he said, exchanging the precious ADAM for the deadly Plasmid. The machine dispensed it, syringe and all. "Here we go..." he stated, plunging the needle in. He never truly got used to the sensation, but learned to live (literally) with it.

"So, this gives me the power to shoot... bees? Sounds... interesting." As he said this, two Splicers walked into view. "Perfect! Training targets!" As the Splicers lunged towards Jack, he flexed his hand into the form shown in the video given with each new plasmid. He watched with fascination as honeycombs spread across his hand, hundreds of larvea hatching and maturing rapidly. Aiming his hand as if to claw at the Splicers, Jack saw a swarm of bees launch towards them. They swatted at them furiously, being pained by their stings, until they died. "Very effective." Jack noted. "I can simply shoot and forget; the bees will do it for me!" he said with glee. That was until, however, that he noticed strange bumps on his arm. They were big. And Purple. And growing larger in number by the second. Jack was being stung by his own horde of bees. "SHIT! This hurts!" Jack exclaimed. He then started to run away, and the horde, with their coloney on his arm, gave chase. "FFFFUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!" Jack yelped, as he sprinted through the halls. "Have to find water! Bees can't stand water!" The irony of this, Jack needing to find water in a leaking underwater city, escaped him, as he had more important things on his mind. When he spotted a pool of water, he said relieved "Finally!" and proceeded to dive headfirst in. Of course, this meant that he banged his head on the tile floor, as the pool was only 1-2 feet deep. On an unrelated note, Jack learned the value of checking water depth that day. Still, the water served its purpose and the bees passed by. "Damn." stated Jack, as he got up and walked away. "I have a major headache." He rubbed his head, wishing the pain would go away. "I wonder if they make a tonic for migraines..."

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**Well, here we are again. Thanks for the reviews, more are always welcome! Right, everyone?**

**All: Yes.**

**See? Now, would they lie about something like that?**


	7. The Uber Splicer

The thought that managed to cross Jack's skull before the bullet did was "What the FUCK-" this sentence was punctuated by a loud splatter, as Jack's head literally exploded from the force of the round. To explain, a lucky Leadhead Splicer had managed to sneak up on Jack when he was low on health. Seeing, and taking, opportunity, the Splicer put a bullet into the back of Jack's head. Jack, now revived and pissed off at the Splicer, grumbled and grunted as he made his way through the never-ending barrage of obstacles. But this chapter is not about Jack. No, this chapter is about the Splicer!

"HAHAHAHA!" cheered the Splicer. (we'll call him Bob for lack of a better name). Betcha' didn't see THAT one coming, huh! HAHAHA*wheeze*HA*wheeze*haha... Dammit," Bob said glumly, "I can't laugh like I used to. Let's see what this little fish has on him... DAMMIT! NO ADAM!" Bob snarled "Well, what else is there... camera, wrench, pistol, machine gun... crossbow...? chemical thrower...!? GRENADE LAUNCHER!?! WHAT WAS THIS GUY, A WALKING ARMORY?!?! Still, it's mine now! Look out Rapture, here comes me!" Bob exclaimed, overjoyed at his new weapons.

So, Bob made his way down Apollo Square, looking for anything. When he saw a nearby Splicer reveling in the ADAM it had recently aquired, he said to it "You there. That ADAM's mine."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the other Splicer, "FUCK YOU!" as it lunged at him, Bob shot him with the fully upgraded pistol, killing it instantly.

"Very nice. I'll just take that..." Bob said, taking the ADAM and doing whatever a Splicer does with ADAM. "This is great! I can do whatever I want, whenever I want! This is the shit!" So, Bob embarked on a journy of needless whim. Whether it was taking others ADAM, visiting the restricted areas of Rapture that were otherwise crawling with security bots, defacing the insane Sander Cohen's Masterpiece, (followed by laughing in his face about it afterwords), or just raising hell, Bob did it, and no one could stop him. He was a walking one-man army.

Finally, Bob made his way to Arcadia. "Time to put this to the ultimate test... HEY, YOU!" Bob screamed to a nearby Big Daddy, "YOUR MOTHER SMELLS LIKE THE BACK END OF A WHALE!" That did it, alright. In recorded (and unrecorded) history, a Big Daddy has never charged an enemy as fast as that one. "BRING IT ON!" Bob yelled. He layed out a few proximity mines, and switched to heat-seeking RPGS. When he ran out, he finished the Big Daddy off with some electrical gel. "Now then..." Bob said with an evil smirk, as he descended upon the cowering Little Sister, "here, little girl... It's just you, and me, and all the tasty ADAM I want..."

"NO! MR. B, WAKE UP! MR. B, NOOOOO!!!" cried the Little Sister. Just as Bob was reaching for her, he was shot in the back. While he did not fall, his attention was turned to who shot him.

"Put the girl down, and no one gets hurt." said Jack, who had shot Bob.

"You again! Back for more, eh?"

"...You again? Wait... YOU'RE THE ASSHOLE WHO SHOT ME! SCREW NEGOTIATIONS! RAHHH!!!" screamed Jack, as he lunged at Bob. It was an epic battle. Bob used every weapon in Jack's arsenal against him, while Jack used every Plasmid in his system to attack. In the end, though, Jack emerge victorious, winning by stunning Bob with Electrobolt, stealing his pistol back, and shooting Bob squarely in the head. "Ironic, isn't it?" Jack asked, mockingly. "Well then... " Jack then realized that the Little Sister was still cowering, watching him. "Shhh..." Jack cooed, "Everything going to be alright..." he said as he freed the Little Sister from the Slug. "There. Are you alright?" Jack asked the now normal girl.

"Yes... Thank you. Thank you..." replied the girl.

"Run along now." Jack said. As the girl climbed into the nearest vent, Jack could have sworn that she said, "That Splicer was mean..."

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**TA-DAH! New chapter here. Read, enjoy, review, all that good stuff.**


	8. The Camera

**Hi there! Here's another chapter! Enjoy.**

* * *

The camera. The only thing in Rapture that is valued more than a weapon. With one click of the shutter, it reveals your foe's weakness, says the advertisement. Make knowledge your best tool, says another. But how is this able to do such a thing?

Jack was strangely fascinated with the camera. It was something he used irregularly, however, snapping pictures when he remembered about it, but was fascinated nevertheless. After a while, Jack's curiosity about it caused him to bring up a conversation with Atlas about it. "Atlas, you there? I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it, boyo?" asked Atlas.

"It's about the camera."

"What about it? Did it break or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to ask a few questions about it."

"Alright lad, go ahead."

"For starters, I've noticed something very strange. When I accidently took a picture mid-fight, my opponent did the strangest thing!"

"What did he do?"

"He... He... Just stood there! He didn't attack me until I stopped looking at the picture! What could have made him do that?!"

"Well, lad, er... maybe he was blinded by the flash, couldn't attack in his dazed state. Yeah, that's it."

"...Do you really think so?"

"Absolutely, lad..."

"Alright, but another thing is that the main function of the camera kind of confuses me. When I take a picture, it dispenses a slip of paper with a description about the enemy. How does know what enemy I photograph?"

"It, erm... just uses... um..."

"I mean, if it could do something like recognize what I photograph, than that means it already has the information about that enemy already in there! How would the people who made the camera know what types of enemys the camera would photograph?! There weren't any Splicers back then!"

"Lad, listen, I-"

"Who made this thing, anyway? Is there a label or some- hey, I see it... 'Fontaine Futuristics'!? Why is its lname on this?!

"Goddammit, lad, you made me do this! Would you kindly forget about the label, and any questions you have about the camera!"

"...What? Did you say something?"

"No, laddie. Nothing at all."

"...Alright. Continuing on, I guess." said Jack, "Man, what was I talking about...?"

* * *

Later, Jack was venturing on, occasionally snapping pictures, when he heard a familiar voice. "Jack?" It asked.

"Anne?" Jack replied.

"How very nice to meet you again." Anne responded, "Say, what do you have there?"

"What do I have where?

"Over here." she said, smiling, as she reached and grabbed the camera from his construction-worker style utility belt. "This camera. Have you taken any pictures?"

"Why, yes I have. I keep them with me," he replied, reaching into one of his countless pockets and pulling out a random amount of photos.

"Why do you keep them?" asked Anne.

"So that when I finally make it out of this hellhole, I can convince myself (and others) that I was not insane, and did not make the whole thing up.

"How nice..." she said absent-mindedly, sifting through the pictures. "Hey... that's me!" she exclaimed, pointing to one photo in paticular.

"So it is... I remember now! That was when Peach Wilkins want pictures of Spider Splicers! Crazy bastard... Anyway, I remember that one of them got away. That was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes, yes it was."

"Why didn't you reveal yourself to me?

"I wasn't sure if I could trust you yet."

An awkward scilence followed...

"Well, you trust me now, right?"

"Oh, of _course._" she said coyly, getting closer to him, "I trust a gun and Plasmid-wielding death machine _completely._"

"See, there's that sarcasm again!"

* * *

Meanwhile, far off and away from the smiling pair Jack and Anne, a Vita-Chamber was pulsing brightly. It let out a mighty flash, filling the dank hallway it was in for the first time in months. After the flash subsided, a dark figure strode out of the machine. Smiling with a wicked grin, it shouted "I'M BACK, BABY!"

* * *

**So, here we are... wait, I've said this before, haven't I? Oh well. Tell me what you think, as always. Peace!**


	9. What just happened?

There was something wrong here, Jack decided. It wasn't a horde of Splicers hiding in wait, nor was a Big Daddy to be found. So why was it so quiet?

"Dammit, where is everybody?" Jack dedmanded.

Not a soul responded. Not even the sound of the mechanical side to Rapture could be heard. Just empty, tranquil, scilence.

"...Anyone? Anyone at all...?"

Still nothing.

"...Anne? Is this one of your tricks again?"

Not a sound.

* * *

Jack's scilence did not help.

"Atlas?" Jack said worriedly, contacting the Irishman. "You there?"

The radio just crackled and buzzed.

"...WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYONE!?!?!"

Jack wandered the halls of Rapture, seaching for anyone. Anything. Any possible thing to interact with. But still he found nothing.

"...This sucks."

Eventually, Jack wandered to Fort Frolic. There, he saw quite the different story. Cohen's masterpiece was gone. In its place was a man of silver, just like the statues Jack had seen. Jack looked around for anyone, and then went to inspect the statue. It was made of the finest silver, with no markings or mistakes anywhere on the object. It was perfect.

"...Well," said Jack sarcastically to the statue, "Do you know what happened to everyone? Because I sure as hell don't."

The statue simply stood there, motionless.

"Ahh, I'm just wasting my time, aren't I?"

"It hasn't dawned on you yet? How surprising." said the statue, still motionless.

Jack was shocked. Still, given all the insane things he had see here already, he did not react extremely. "So," Jack said, "What do you mean, I don't know? How could I possibly know?"

"Isn't it obvious? You are forgotten."

"..What?"

"No one cares about you now. You are nonexistant."

"...What the Hell are you talking about?"

"All will be explained in the future. But for now, you must do something first."

"What?"

"Wake up." And with that, the statue moved for the first time, reaching out and covering Jack's face with his hand. Jack then opened his eyes and found himself to be looking at the ceiling of Sinclair's Spirits.

"Dammit, what the hell did I drink?" Jack moaned, clutching his head in pain. "Oh. Right. Booze." Still clutching his head, Jack wondered, "What was I thinking about? Some silver man...? Ah, whatever. It's not important." Jack proceeded into the main room of Fort Frolic, where he spotted Anne. Waving her over, she walked up and said:

"Jack, you look like shit."

Jack, unsurprised by her usual way of putting things simply, acknowledged this by responding with, "Yeah, I know. In the future, I have to remember that having booze hound with me does not equal no hangover."

"That wouldn't be a surprise, given the way you drink."

"...What about the way I drink?"

"Jack, you chug the entire bottle."

"Oh, right. Well, my father was a hard drinker, so... I guess it runs in the family."

"Possibly."

Scilence followed for a while.

"So, um, I had this weird dream, where everyone... forgot, or something? I don't really remember."

"That sounds interesting."

"Yeah, and it was about me... somehow. Gah, I wish I could remember."

"They forget you?"

"Something like that."

"Well, I know _I'll _never forget you."

"No, I think you forgot me, too."

The smile that was building up on Anne's face dissappeared in a flash. "Jack, remind me to never expect you to be romantic when you're drunk."

"...Wha?" was all Jack managed to get out.

"See you later." Anne said, surprisingly politely. And with that, she left.

"What just happened?"

* * *

**Yeah, just wanted to do something special for BioShock 2's release day. As always, Rate & Review, thanks!**


	10. When VitaChambers malfunction

It was bound to happen eventually. The whole damn city was built underwater. So it was natural that things leaked. And dripped. And got wet. Things rust, so on and so forth. But when this VitaChamber got wet, something strange happened. It continued to function, but what it did had changed. The next time it was used, it would give a different result.

Jack hated VitaChambers. Not that he hated them as _objects_, but he hated coming to the realization that yes, once again, he had screwed up. It was like hearing someone saying "You have failed. Try again." over and over again. So, naturally, when he found himself in the glass chamber, he was mad already. "Goddammit!" yelled Jack. "What happened this time?!" this was because Jack was attacked from behind, and never saw the attacker. But what was important was that he was in the _altered_ VitaChamber. When he stepped outside, Jack noticed the huge puddle of water at his feet. This caught him by surprise, as usually there isn't any water near these important machines. But his attention then turned to something else: The fact that the VitaChamber was working. "What the Hell?" Jack said, confused. "I'm here already. What's it gonna do now?" As to answer his question, the machine produced a bright, white light, to show... another Jack.

They just stood there for a while, staring. Anyone observing would not be able to tell them apart. The same hair, clothes, skin- everything was the same. The silence only grew, until the clone spoke:

**(Author's note: The _true_ Jack will just be called Jack. The clone is Jack 2)**

Jack 2: "Who are you?"

Jack, still taken back by the apperance of his double, manage to say: "I'm Jack."

Jack 2: "How odd. My name is Jack as well."

Jack: "That's because you're me."

Jack 2: "What? That's stupid. _I'm _me, _you're _you."

Jack: "You're a clone of me. "

Jack 2: "Don't be rediculous. I am not a clone of anyone!"

Jack: It's true! You came out of _that _machine!" Jack yelled, pointing at the malfunctioning VitaChamber.

As if response to this, the machine created _another_ Jack. So now there were three. All just stared. Until, however, Jack stated bluntly:

Jack: WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!?

Jack 3: "Er, hello... Why do you two look exactly alike? Are you twins?"

Jack 2: "I hope not! I don't want any relation with this loon!"

Jack: "Shut up, you!"

Jack 2: "Bite my big fat grenade launcher!"

As they bickered and argued, the machine just kept chugging away. Soon, Jack 4, 5, and 6 joined the party. Now, Jack's attention was on this problem: The machine didn't give any signs that it was going to stop. So, how was he to deal with all these clones? Jack was sitting on a nearby bench, watching the clones converse with each other, pondering it over, when he was attacked from behind. "Shit!" Jack yelped, facing his attacker. "Wait... You again!" he said to the familiar face. It was a Splicer he had met before, and killed. It was Bob.

"Yes, It's me! HAHAHAHA! And, it's also your DEATH!" he screamed, lunging at Jack.

"How the hell did you live?! I shot you in the head!"

"Apparently, VitaChambers work on me, too! What luck, HAHAHAHA!!!"

"Stop laughing, goddammit! I have bigger problems than you right now!"

"Oh?" said Bob sarcastically, "And what might that be?"

"_Them_" Jack pointed at the clones.

The anger from Bob's face disappeared instantly, changing into confusion as he saw the half-dozen Jacks in the room. "What the hell is this?!

"It's the machine, it's been cloning them non-stop!" cried Jack. "I don't have a goddamn clue what to do!"

"Have you tried killing them?"

"It's kinda hard to kill something _that_ _looks exactly like you."_

"Fine, I'll do it for you." said Bob, and shot Jack 5 in the head.

"What the hell just- Holy shit!- Goddamn!- Gah!" When Jacks 2, 3, 4, and 6, respectively.

""He just shot that guy!" shouted Jack 6, "Kill him!"

And with that, the remaining Jacks bumrushed Bob and beat him to death. It wasn't long, however, until Jack 5, and then Bob, respawned.

"What the hell! we killed you already!" went one of the Jacks.

"Don't mind me, just passing through." said Bob, walking over to Jack. "Well, Jack, it seems that that doesn't work. Let's find some other plan."

"Alright, I guess_- *flash* _went the VitaChamber, spawning another figure. But this time, it was Bob in the glass, not Jack. This surprised all seven people in the room.

"Oh, goddammit, now it's copying you!" Jack moaned.

Meanwhile, the clones were not getting along. The Jack clones got into arguments with the Bob clone, then Bob clones, while also increasing in their own number, until the room was full of angry, arguing, clones of Jack and Bob.

"I think we should leave." said Bob to Jack.

"Why?" asked Jack.

"This is going to get very ugly, very soon." replied Bob.

Just as Bob said this, a fight broke out. First it was one pair of Jack and Bob clones, but then it was two pairs... then four... then eight... until the whole room was filled with fighting clones.

Jack and Bob waited outside the room, waiting for the noise to settle down. When it did, they journeyed back inside to look at the carnage. And believe me, it was _carnage. _The whole room was filled with bodies, nothing left alive. Jack and Bob simply stood in silence, until they saw the VitaChamber at work once again. This time, what came out was... horrific. It was a hybrid of a Jack and Bob clone, arms and legs meshed, attached to a conglomerate ball of skin. Truely horrifying. Revulsion spread across both of their faces, until the both leveled their grenade launchers and blast the... _thing... _to death.

"...Look, I don't know, and I don't want to know, what that thing was. We need to solve this problem now. Any thoughts?" said Jack.

"...The ocean!"

"What?"

"We could push it into the ocean!"

"Alright, don't have any better ideas..."

So, Bob and Jack dragged the VitaChamber into the nearest airlock door. (After some heavy damage to get the thing to move.) When they got there, they noticed the machine starting to warm up again, so they quickly shot it out into the ocean.

"Bon Voyage, ya freaks!" said Bob.

"So, that takes care of that problem. Now, where were we?" asked Jack.

"This!" shouted Bob, shooting Jack in the head. "HAHAHA!"

So, Jack respawned, thankfully in a VitaChamber that _did _function properly, pissed off at Bob. "Goddammit! Has he ever heard of manners?..."

* * *

And to this day, no one know where the Vita Chamber is. Its occupant, if it has one, would be forever kept alive by the respawning. It had become another legend of the Ocean.

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**Hurahh! New Chapter! R&R, yeah!**

**UPDATE**

**Want to learn more about that creature inside the VitaChamber? Sad that you couldn't? Well, don't be an emo any longer, because it now has a FanFiction about it! Serious thanks to MurderJunkie for writing the story, Hell under Glass. Now go, go on and be enlightened!**

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**Oh, and review, please.**


	11. A Little Sister

Everyone knows that when you save a little sister, she thanks you and runs off to the nearest vent. But what if she didn't want to leave?

* * *

Jack always felt _happy_ after saving a Little Sister, knowing that he had saved a life amidst this murderous environment. But this girl was... _different, _to put bluntly. To understand this better, here's the dialogue between them:

"Thank you... Thank you..." said the Girl.

"Okay, run along now..." said Jack warmly.

"No."

"...What?"

"I wanna stay with you."

"umm... please go?"

"No!"

"Look, kid, you won't be safe with me. I have a very dangerous job here."

"I don't care, I wanna stay with you, NOW!"

"Kid, you're getting on my last nerve! Now, get in that vent before I shove you in it!"

At this point the ex-Little Sister let out an ear-piercing scream. Jack, knowing that a Big Daddy would be moments away by now, quickly said: "Okay, Okay! You win! You can stay with me!"

"Yay!" said the girl. "I get to be with Mister Jack!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go!" said Jack, eager to leave the area.

When they reached the next city sector, (consequently leaving a confused Big Daddy behind), only then did Jack start to relax.

"So, kid." started Jack, "What's your name?"

"Name?" asked the girl.

"Christ, you don't remember your name?"

"Huh?"

"Okay, so... er, how about Lucy?

"Nope." said the girl.

"Abby?"

"Nah."

"Cindy? Elizabeth? Sally?"

Nooo...." the girl said, giggling.

"Christina? Jill? Rachael? Zoey? Molly? Sasha? Eleanor? Matilda? Claire?"

"I like Claire."

"Alright, Claire it is. So, _Claire_." he said, putting emphasis on the name, "Why do you want to stay with me so badly?"

"Because you're Mister Jack, that's why, silly! All the other girls are talking about you."

"...Really?" questioned Jack, "What do they say?"

"About how you're here to help us all and stuff. I wanted to see if it was true."

Jack, who could never resist a compliment to his ego, said. "Ah, well, okay. That's fine to observe. But be careful, alright? You're not indestructable anymore, okay? First Splicer we see, you go back in the vent."

"...Okay, Mister Bossy. I'll be a good girl."

"Also, no sarcasm. I get enough of that already with Anne..."

It turned out that this area was pretty much deserted of Splicers, letting Claire have a field day with questions.

"Why do you make a lot of Angels, Mister Jack?"

"Because they all attack me."

"Why?"

"Because they're insane."

"Why?"

"Because they took too much ADAM."

"Why?"

"Because, um..." Jack was trying to think of an answer that would stop her from asking 'Why?' anymore. "Oh! Because they all liked it so much!"

"Why?"

"Dammit, kid. Uh, because it was the best thing ever and everyone wanted it and this is the end of this discussion!"

"Wh-"

"END OF DISCUSSION!"

"Meanie... I wa-" Claire was cut off by a loud scream as a Thuggish Splicer rushed at them.

"Get behind me!" Jack yelled to Claire as he drew his shotgun and blasted the Splicer straight to Hell. "Whew, " Jack breathed with relief as the Splicer fell. "That's done with."

"...M-Mister Jack?..."

"Yes, what is it?"

"There's more bad people...."

Jack looked around to see that Claire was right; they were surrounded by a ravenous horde of Splicers, smiling in anticipation.

"For Chrissake'... the ONE time they coordinate a strike! Really, why?! WHY?!"

"Mister Jack?..."

"Alright, don't worry Claire, we'll get out of this, I'm sure..." In reality, Jack had no clue how they would survive. Jack could die, sure, as he would respawn, but leaving Claire would be... unacceptable.

He was still thinking of a plan when he heard the ever-familiar voice say his name. "Jack!" called Anne, who had appeared out of nowhere, like she usually did. "Don't worry, I'll save you!"

Jack at that point was feeling both incredibly unmasculine, due to that he needed to be saved, and incredibly thankful that a solution appeared. So, like the entirety of Rapture does, he fought. Fought with his guns, fought with his Plasmids, fought with his life, ever-determined to save Claire. The same went for Anne, too, even though she didn't know Claire was there.

So, as the last of the horde fell, Jack, Anne, and Claire breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"You know Jack, you get in the worst possible situations sometimes." Anne said with a smile.

"I know. It was even worse because she was here." Jack replied, pointing at Claire.

Anne was silent for a moment, and then raged: "You had a LITTLE GIRL with you?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!" Almost immediately, she switched to a calm, gentle voice and said to Claire: "Are you okay? Did the mean Splicers hurt you?"

"N-No. I'm fine." said Claire, shaken up at Anne's violent outburst.

"As for you..." Anne directed at Jack.

"Look, she really wanted to travel with me, okay."

"So?! Say no!"

"She. Was. _Persistent_." Jack said, gritting his teeth.

This arguing continued for a little while until Claire interjected.

"Wow, Mister Jack! You have a lot of weapons! More than Mister B.!" she said, changing the subject.

"Huh?... Uh, yes I do."

"Why?"

_Oh, not this crap again. _thought Jack. "Because I use it to defend myself."

"Why?"

"That's because he needs the protection." interrupted Anne, still angry at Jack.

"Wh-" Claire tried to interrupt.

"Well, that's only when I'm surprised."

"Which seems to happen a lot."

"Wait-" started Claire

"Because all the Splicers play dirty tricks!"

"That's because you don't have the instinct to know what to expect!"

"That's because I'm human, and not some crazed junkie!"

"STOP IT!" screeched Claire. This brought Jack and Anne's new argument to a halt. "STOP FIGHTING! DON'T BE BAD PEOPLE!"

This caused Jack and Anne to think about what they said, and realized that they were ashamed of it. Jack, wanting to re-prove his masculinity, decided to apologize first.

"Look, Anne, I'm sorry for what I said. And Claire, I'm sorry for putting you in danger."

"And I'm sorry for yelling at you, Jack. Can you forgive me?"

"As soon as you can forgive me."

"YAY!" giggled Claire, "Everyone's happy now!

Jack and Anne looked at Claire, and laughed.

"Come on, Claire. It's time for you to go to Miss Tenenbaum's house."

"Aww... Do I have to?"

Well... I don't see why we can't take the long way to the vent." said Anne.

Jack smirked at this.

"Hurray!" beamed Claire, and began to prance forward skipping along to a song she hummed. Jack and Anne followed close behind, keeping watch, but were really enjoying each others' company.

If anyone were to look at them, they would look like...

A family.

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**3...2...1...D'AWWWW.  
Kinda Cute, huh? To be honest, I was in a kind of Creative Slump for a few days. Even as I finish this now, I still am trying to come up with the next chapter's idea. Hopefully it won't be too long. Sorry for the lack of humor. If you don't like it, tough. I write things my way. As always, Rate&Review, please!**


	12. A Big Problem

After rescuing Claire, Jack had some ADAM to spend. Noting the appearance of a new Plasmid in the Gatherer's Garden machine, Jack decided to buy it.

"Hypnotize Big Daddy." said Jack, "This could be useful." So, after Injecting himself with it, he held up the strange, squishy, ball-like object. "When can I test this?..."

After Jack searched for a while, he found a lonely Big Daddy, devoid of its Little Sister. "Alright, let's try this out." Jack said to himself. He readied the ball... and flung it at the Big Daddy. _Squish_it went, but Jack's attention was on something else. The Big Daddy's eyes (or eye-sockets, helmet sockets, portholes, whatever you call it) had turned a calm sea green, rather than its usual yellow.

"Okay, so, uh..." Jack addressed to his newly-befriended Big Daddy, "Let's go." Jack started to head for the next area, and the Big Daddy followed diligently.

_From Big Daddy's POV:_

It was surprised. Just a moment ago, it was trudging along, when a Little Sister appeared! Where it came from, it didn't know. All it knew is that it had to protect her. So, when she spoke the words: "Let's go." It followed, still surprised at her sudden appearance, but happy nonetheless.

_Jack's POV:_

The Big Daddy had followed him all the way to the next area. _So, _Jack thought, _this Plasmid makes it my ally, huh? This will be very useful in a pinch. _Suddenly, a small group of Splicers jumped him. Startled, he was just about to fight back when the Big Daddy let out an ear-splitting roar.

_Big Daddy POV:_

While traveling with her, a threat appeared! Angry at them, he let out a roar. It would not let them harm her. It impaled the first one with it's drill, the blood soaking it. Now it defeated the second with a bash to the head, and was just about to take down the third when it saw... That its Little Sister had killed it already. This is very strange, it thought, Little Sisters do not defend themselves! What is happening? "Come on, let's go." the Little Sister had said, and was starting to move on. Now, it thought, this is very strange. There must be ADAM here, but why does she not collect? Is something wrong?

_Jack's POV:_

He was amazed when the Big Daddy defended him, watching the bloodshed, but had killed the third Splicer himself. Even though he was safe, he was still a bit uneasy. It was because he was getting some strange looks by the Big Daddy (well, if you can believe that thing in the suit can give a strange look). Wanting to move on, Jack said "Come on, let's go." The Big Daddy hesitated, as if unsure, but began to leave nontheless.

So, Jack traveled around, fighting Splicers with the Big Daddy alongside him, still a bit uneasy about it though. Soon, he met up with Anne, which was disasterous at first.

_Big Daddy POV:_

It was getting very worried. She was not singing, nor collecting ADAM, and she could fight for herself! How was this possible?! Still, it thought, it was still good that it had a Little Sister. It would not lose it. So, when it saw another threat appear, it readied itself for battle. "Wait!" she shouted, "Don't! She's a friend!" This was unbelievable for it! She had befriended an enemy! Something was wrong. Very wrong.

_Jack's POV:_

After he had calmed the Big Daddy down, he explained to Anne what happened. "This will be useful." Anne said, "Not much can bring down a Big Daddy. Save for you, Jack." Jack, still unable to refuse a compliment to his ego, said "Thanks. Yeah, this guy's great in a fight, but..."

"But what?"

"How long does this last?

"What?"

"The Plasmid, Anne, how long does it last?"

"Not indefinitely, for sure. Maybe an hour or two. Why?

"Uh-oh."

_Big Daddy's POV:_

It saw the most strange thing yet. She was disappearing! She was there, slowly fading away! Horrified, it tried to hold on to her, to stop her from fading away, when she transformed in to a strange man. It just looked in stunned silence, and then became angry. They took her away! It thought.

_Jack's POV:_

When the Big Daddy manhandled him, jack was very uncomfortable. When he noticed the eyes changing from green to yellow, he became even more uncomfortable. When they changed to red, he was outright _terrified. _"ROOAAARRRRR!!!!" it screeched, launching Jack into the air. "FUCK!" yelped Jack, flying over Anne's head. "Hold on, Jack!" Anne shouted, "We can take him down together!" As she rushed to Jack to help him up, the Big Daddy revved its drill, and began dashing towards them. "LOOK OUT!" Jack screamed, pushing Anne and himself out of the way. This resulted in the Big Daddy crashing through a wall behind them. 'Hurry, we don't have much time!" said Jack, "Get ready!" the pair both prepared themselves for the Big Daddy to reemerge from the hole... 10 seconds pass... then 30.... then 60.... when nothing happened, they went through the wall to see what happened. It turned out that the Big Daddy had walked into a room filled with trap bolts. Jack discovered it's corpse in the corner, the electrice wires wrapped around its dead body.

"...This is a bit of a shocker, huh?" joked Jack.

"Jack, I swear if you make that pun again I WILL gouge your throat."

"...Uh, never mind."

* * *

So, Jack was a bit wary of using that Plasmid again. In fact, the next time he used it would be completely by accident.

Jack had discovered a Big Daddy/ Little Sister pair, wandering through a room. Noting a security camera nearby, he reached for the Plasmid that would turn the security system on it, holding the ball in his hand. When the Big Daddy was directly in front of the camera, he threw the ball, but then noticed that the color of the ball _was the same as the Hypnotize Big Daddy Plasmid._

So now there was a very unique situation. The Big Daddy now had _two _Little Sisters, Jack was spotted by the security camera, and the real Little Sister was scared. It plays out as thus: The Security bots deployed, attacking Jack. The Big Daddy destroyed them, saving Jack. The Little Sister was scared out of her wits. When everything was done, she said:

"Mister B.! Get Him!" this confused the Big Daddy. Get _who?_ There was no one here but itself and the two Sisters. It looked at the new Sister for answers. It just stayed quiet. "What are you waiting for, Mister Bubbles! Kill him, kill him!"

The Big Daddy had never been more confused in its entire tortured existence. It had its Little Sister telling him to kill another Little Sister! What madness was this?

Jack, tired of this, pulled out his chemical thrower, full of electrical gel, and opened fire. He just electrified it until it stopped moving. Seeing the now-crying Little Sister, he said to her: "Kid, it's nothing personal." The girl stopped crying for a second, at which point Jack Rescued her, and said: "You're free now, run along."

As the girl ran to the vent, Jack said to himself, "She was better off without him, anyway. He couldn't tell the difference between a grown man and a six-year-old girl."

* * *

**Wow, I just wrote this on the spot! Forgive me if I made any mistakes, but I just decided to start writing it a little, then it became a lot, and now I'm finished with the chapter! Cool! Yeah, so Rate&Review, as always!**


	13. Brute Force

Jack was quite scared of what was in front of him. Jack, who had his back to the wall, was face to face with a Splicer unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was _huge._ To imagine it, think of the strongest person you know (if any). Now picture them on steroids. Now _double _that. That was what Jack was facing. It had muscles out the wazoo!

It snorted and grunted, ready to tear Jack in half in an instant. Jack, hoping to escape, decided to try to distract the Splicer.

"Look, behind you!" he said, pointing behind the Splicer. The Splicer (let's call him Dave), not being the brightest of medically insane fellows, actually turned around and looked! This gave Jack the opportunity to run away. Dave, now enraged (no, not the plasmid, dummy.) at this discovery, began pursuing this now-fleeing Jack.

Jack raced though the halls of Rapture as fast as he could, firing his pistol at Dave in feeble attempts to kill him, but to no avail! Dave simply shrugged off the wounds as if they were nothing! Dave tore up the halls as he pursued Jack, causing benches and trash cans to go flying all over the place.

By coincidence, Jack spotted Bob in the distance. "You there!" he shouted as he ran towards Bob, "Run!"

"Hm? Well, look who came back for more! It's dear ol' Jackie boy!"

"Shut up and run!"

"Why should I run from you?! I can easily overpower…"

Bob's mouth hung open as he saw Dave for the first time. Jack ran past Bob, while Bob stood, unable to make his legs move. Unfortunately for him, this resulted in Bob's face being smashed in by Dave once he passed.

Jack saw Bob die, but had to keep running. _He'll be fine, _Jack thought, _apparently he can respawn too. He'll just show up at the nearest…_Jack looked forward to see that Bob was spawning in a VitaChamber that was just ahead. _Goddammit. _"Keep moving!" he shouted.

"What?! He's still after you?! Dammit!" Bob yelled as he began to pick up the pace. "How can you keep running so far?!" Bob asked, hurriedly.

"SportsBoost one and two together make me one of the greatest athletes out there." Jack explained.

"I think you're outclassed by that guy back there! Speaking of which, what are we going to do?! We can't run forever!"

"In there!" Jack shouted, pointing at an empty room, "Go!"

So the duo dived in through on of the many airlock doors and entered the room. Quickly, Jack fried the door control with a burst of Electrobolt, making the door fall and sealing themselves away from Dave.

"That was close." Said Jack with relief.

"Don't be an idiot, Jackie! This room now has no exit!"

Jack looked around to see that Bob was right. The room had a few couches, some trashcans, a large glass window, and, unfortunately, was only connected by the door that Jack just sealed. "Fuck, you're right. Looks like the only way is past Dave."

"Shit."

"I know. Look, I can't believe I'm saying this, but... we're gonna have to work together on this one."

"WHAT?! Don't make me laugh, Jackie! Do you remember the LAST time we 'worked together'?"

As if on cue, the broken VitaChamber and Jacob drifted by (re: chapter 10) drifting aimlessly in the ocean current. Jack looked at the poor creature and sighed. "Look, I know, but we aren't ever gonna get out of this room by ourselves. You with me?"

"...fine, I guess." Bob mumbled.

"Alright, good. Now, we need to come up with a plan."

"We couldn't just kill ourselves and respawn elsewhere?"

"That thing won't leave us alone! This room is our _one _opportunity to think clearly, I ain't gonna leave it!"

"Fine, jeez! Don't get your pantyhose in a knot!"

"...hrm." Jack snorted.

After careful consideration of what was available, Jack and Bob finally came up with a solution. After some necessary preparation, the duo were ready.

They stood SWAT style to the airlock door, with Jack counting down. "3..2..1..NOW!" With this, Jack opened the airlock (Jack had fixed the control previously), which allowed Dave to come charging through. When Dave was inside the room, Jack and Bob stood on the other side of the door frame. Now, Dave was in the lobby, and the duo were in the hall. As Dave began to notice that they were not there, Jack and Bob levelled their grenade launchers, and fired. Dave began to put his arms up to defend himself, but was surprised when he did not feel a thing. No, Jack and Bob's shots had flown over his head, and exploded into the glass window. Dave turned to loom at the glass, which had a crack in it now. Jack and Bob quietly stepped outside the door's sensor range, allowing it to close. The moment this was done, the crack spider-webbed to touch all parts of the window. Then, with a deafening _CRASH! _the glass shattered into millions of pieces, with thousands of gallons of seawater flooding the room. Dave tried in vain to save his feeble life, but to no avail. He was dead.

* * *

"So," Jack asked Bob, "I think that worked out rather well, don't you?"

"Meh, I guess."

"Come on, be a little more cheery!"

"Fuck you."

"...So, what should we call him?"

"That Splicer?"

"Yeah, his type. I mean, I hope there won't be more of them, but..."

"Well, he was focused on strength, so... I'll call him the Brute."

"Funny, I was gonna' call him the Tank."

"That's retarded."

"Whatever."

* * *

Dave's corpse drifted on through the ocean, floating aimlessly, actually passing Jacob for a while, eventually settling on another large glass window. A Splicer, name unknown, walk by and said "I wonder if he's the advertiser for SportsBoost 3."

* * *

**Hey, sorry for the wait and stuff. Kinda hard crankin' these things out, so.... Yeah, rate&review&enjoy.**

**P.S. spot the L4D reference and win a ticket to Ryan Amusements!**


	14. Stuck in a storeroom

Jack and Bob were still congratulating themselves on Dave's death when they saw a shadow from behind a corner. Readying themselves, it wasn't long before they could distinguish voices.

"Don't touch that, dear, you'll get sick." said a feminine voice.

"Aww... but he's an Angel! Angels don't hurt any one!" replied a childish voice.

"Still, no." she replied.

"Anne?" said Jack.

"What are you talking about?" responded Bob.

"Hey, Anne, over here!" Jack shouted.

"What the hell are you doing?! Don't tell them where we are!" Bob whispered angrily.

"Be quiet, she's a friend." Jack explained, as the figures came into view. "See?" Jack said, "It's Anne and... Claire? What are you doing out here?"

"I'm playing with Ms. Spider!" Claire responded happily.

"And you are here because...?" Jack directed at Anne.

"Because Miss Tenenbaum couldn't get a moment of silence with this rambunctious kid around." she explained, "So, she let her travel with me for a while. I can protect her from Splicers." she concluded, eyeing Bob.

"And she let you take Claire outside because...?"

"She knows me."

"How?"

"When I was not with you, I found her hideout. We talked, and eventually I gained her trust. She even let me inside, the girls were a bit scared at first, but they've grown to like me."

"I guess you're good with kids."

"You could say that." she smiled, motioning towards Claire.

"Good to know. So, anyway, me and Bob here... Bob? Bob! Get away from Claire! She doesn't even have any ADAM!" Anne immediately shot Bob a look that would stop a Big Daddy cold.

"What?!" Bob exclaimed, backing away from the child, "Then what damn use is she of?!"

"To play!" giggled Claire. Jack and Anne smiled, but still glared at Bob.

"Anyway..." continued Jack, "We just got finished taking down the biggest Splicer you've ever seen. This guy was huge! He could tear a person apart!"

"You mean like him?" Claire asked, pointing.

Everyone in the group turned to look at where she was pointing. There, was another Brute, staring at them, as if whating to be noticed.

"What." said Anne.

"The." said Bob

"FUDGECAKES!" said Claire, gleefully.

"RAAAAGH!!!" said the Brute (Let's call him Ethan.)

"RUN!" shouted Jack. Anne grabbed Claire and began to run with Jack and Bob. The group ran down the hallways, Ethan in tow, when they came across one of the Little Sister Doors. "Quickly, Claire, open the door!" said Anne. Claire obliged, crawling through and opening the door. The group rushed through, the door slamming shut just as Ethan reached it. He pounded on the door, angry as Hell.

"Well, that was close." remarked Anne, "These doors are indestructible."

"What are they, made by the guy who made the vending machines?" joked Jack.

"What?"

"Oh, Damn it-" interrupted Bob, "This happened last time! We're trapped in a room again!"

Jack looked around to see that, yes, they were once again in a room with one exit.

"There's no way we can leave with that guy out there. I guess we'll just have to wait until this guy tires out. Nothing last forever, right?" asked Jack.

"I guess so." responded Anne.

"Well, at least we won't get bored." replied Jack, "Look at all this stuff!" he said, motioning to the room. The room was chock full of musical instruments. A guitar, drums, cymbals, flutes, even a baby grand piano!

"This must have been a music storeroom." said Anne, "Go on, Claire, pick out something to play with."

"Yay!" Claire cheered, rushing out to grab an instrument.

"Well, I don't see anything else we can do, so... I'll play too." Jack said, picking up the guitar. When he began playing, however, it became apparent that Jack was no musical genius.

"He's rather... bad, wouldn't you say?" whispered Bob.

"I don't think I can really stand for much more of this." whispered Anne.

"Me neither. I think I'll take the more direct approach." he said, moving towards Jack. "Jack, could I see that guitar for a moment?"

"Uh, sure." Jack replied, handing it to Bob. Bob looked at the guitar, as if contemplating something, then proceeded to smash the guitar on the ground, leaving only the neck and part of the bridge remaining. "Here," he said, handing Jack the remains, "Play on that."

"..." Anne and Jack just stared, the silence only broken by Ethan's banging and the _ping-_ing of the triangle that Claire had found.

"...Must you be so violent?" asked Anne.

"Yes, I do." replied Bob.

"...What is with you people and sarcasm?" asked Jack.

Over the next hour or so, the group entertained themselves with various instruments. Naturally, they became progressively louder, and it was when they reached the loudest point possible did they then hear a loud roar. They stopped playing, and noticed that the banging had stopped.

"Did he leave?" asked Anne.

"I don't know." replied Jack.

"Well, go check." said Bob.

"How? That door won't open unless Claire is on the other side. How am I supposed to check?"

"Like this." Bob the proceeded to open the small door at the bottom, then grabbed Jack. "Hey!" he yelped, as Bob then shoved his head into the opening. Jack, annoyed, looked and saw that Ethan was, indeed, gone.

"Yeah, he's not there." replied Jack, as he stood back up. "We can leave." So, as the group left, they pondered on what happened.

"I wonder why he left?" questioned Anne.

"Maybe he got bored." said Bob.

"Actually, I think it's because we all play so loud that made him leave."

"Really?"

"Well, if that's true, I guess music doesn't soothe the savage beast." said Jack.

"...Jack, will you stop with your puns?"

"Sorry."

* * *

**Hey, new chapter, cool.**


	15. Sander Cohen's Artistic Absurdity

The group, (Jack, Anne, Bob, Claire), after defeating Dave, and with Ethan still out there, they decided that they needed to move on (Jack: "You know, I've almost forgotten about Atlas and his rage-fuelled promise of Ryan's death.) So, after setting course for Hephaestus, the group relaxed slightly as they waited in the bathysphere.

"Anne, can I ask you a question?" said Jack.

"Sure," replied Anne, trying to relax as much as possible in the cramped quarters.

"Why didn't we send Claire back before we got on the 'sphere? It's obviously too dangerous to keep her around."

"Well... I promised her a ride in one of these. She's never been in one before." Anne replied, motioning towards the child, who was gazing out the window. "Wow..." Claire whispered, "It's so pretty..."

"Alright," said Jack, "But the moment we get there, she's going back in the vent." Claire paid no attention to this, still transfixed by the beauty of the ocean.

"It's a lot of nothing, if you ask me." commented Bob, looking at the child, "Fish, water, rocks, water, sand, water, Boring!" This did nothing to curb Claire's amazement, as she didn't even acknowledge Bob's comment. Soon, however, the bathysphere reached the station. As it rose, Anne sighed, knowing what she had to tell Claire.

"Claire, sweety?..." she began.

"Yes, Ms. Spider?" Claire responded.

"Do you remember what you promised me?"

"Aww... I wanna stay!"

"No, dear. It's for your own good. Besides, Hephaestus is no safe place for... Jack, where are we?"

"Fort Frolic." replied Jack, "This Bathysphere doesn't go all the way, so we need to make a transfer to the one that does. It's right over there." Jack pointed down the hall.

Anne could see the Rapture Metro sign at the end of the hallway. "Alright, I guess you can have one more ride, Claire." said Anne.

"Yay!" giggled the child.

"Come on, let's go." said Bob. "I have bad memories about this place." So, the group made it's way down the hall, and were almost at the 'sphere when the lights went off. "Mister Jack? Ms. Spider? Mr. Meanie?" asked Claire.

"Why the hell am I Mr. Meanie?" asked Bob.

"Yes, we're here, Claire. Here, hold my hand." Anne replied, groping around in the dark until she found the small child's hand. Just as she did this, the lights instantly turned back on, albeit in a violet hue. This also illuminated some statues of people, and that a gate was barring access to the bathysphere. More importantly, though, a man's voice could be heard. "Hello, my friend." the voice said, "I, am Sander Cohen. I extend my hand to you, little moth... What's this? A family! Oh, I haven't entertained a family for _ages!_Please, come in, Come in! I'll be waiting for you, at the Fleet Hall!" and with that, his voice disappeared, leaving the group in silence. "Great, we've got this nutcase on our backs." remarked Jack.

"You know him?" questioned Bob.

"Yeah, he's a loon. Crazy. Mental. He had me take pictures of dead people. I don't want to be anywhere near this guy. Come on, let's just go back and find a different bathysphere." The group agreed, but when they went back into the hall, it was full of trap bolts! "How unoriginal." remarked Jack, remembering his first encounter with Cohen. "Damn it, Sander, let us out." cursed Jack.

"Now, what kind of showman would I be if I let you leave un-entertained?" came Cohen's response over the loudspeakers.

"Damn." said Jack, "Fine, we'll play your stupid game. Come on people, let's go. Anne, you stay with Claire... No, wait, there are vents here. Claire, it's time to go."

"Huh? No, I don't wanna! No, No!" rebuked Claire.

"Claire, listen: If you're good, I'll take you outside again later, okay?" said Anne.

"Oh... alright." Claire sighed, but complied. After Anne helped Claire climb into the vent, the trio now venture forward to the Fleet Hall. When they reached the main stage, they saw Cohen standing alone, in the spotlight.

"Alright, we're here, Cohen. What do you want?" called out Jack.

"One thing, really." replied the crazed artist., "I want to be inspired. But these Splicers, they're so... boring. Drab, dull, unimaginative. So please, be my inspiration, would you?"

Jack felt the slightest twinge in his chest, but he paid it no mind. "Why the hell should we do that?" he asked.

"I had a feeling you would say that." replied Cohen, under his breath, "Because... If you don't, I'm afraid I'll have to use... _other _means of inspiration." At this, he moved and revealed that behind him was...

"Claire!" shouted the trio. There she was, handcuffed, and scared out of her mind. "Damn you, Cohen! Why-"

"It's amazing how much these things sound like the actual person, don't you think?" asked Cohen, holding an Accu-Vox in his hand. He pressed the button, and in Anne's voice, came: "Claire, dear, come over here, please. Claire, come here. This way, dear. Claire, over here."

Revulsion spread across Anne's face. "You dirty bastard!" she shouted, "How dare you trick a child like that!"

"Yeesh, you make it sound like I killed her!" he retorted, "But anyway, an artist needs what an artist needs, and I didn't want to kill her, anyway. But if you don't comply, I'm sure she'll make a very fine statue..." he said, smirking a sadistic grin.

"You're mad! Mad as a hatter!" shouted Jack.

"Telling me things I already know won't solve you're problem."

"...Fine. We'll play your game. What do you want us to do?" submitted Jack.

"I don't know! Dance, or something! You're the ones who're supposed to be inspiring ME!" he shouted, suddenly angry.

"Well... Anne, do you know how to dance?"

Anne, still seething with rage at Cohen, said through gritted teeth: "I believe so."

"Alright, so... Hey, Cohen!"

"Hm?" Cohen said, surprised.

"Do we have music, or something?" Jack asked.

"Jack, what are you doing?" whispered Anne.

"I'm trying to get him relaxed." replied Jack, "that way we'll have a better chance of rescuing Claire."

"Alright," she whispered back, "but be careful. You don't know what'll set him off."

"Got it."

"Hmm..." murmured Cohen, not listening to them, "I suppose music _would _be good... You there!" he directed at Bob, without changing his focus from Claire, "Play the piano. Something... uplifting, if you would. This scene is_ far _too dark." Bob, while still saying nothing, complied, and walked towards the piano.

"Huh." whispered Jack, "I thought that piano blew up."

"Maybe he replaced it. We saw another one in the storeroom." responded Anne.

"Probably." Bob sat down at the piano, and began to play... well, actually, very well, to Jack's, Anne's, Claire's, and even Cohen's surprise.

"I didn't know Bob could play the piano." whispered Anne.

"Neither did I" admitted Jack.

"Hello?! What are you two waiting for, DANCE ALREADY!" shouted Cohen, which made Claire flinch. "My muse is a fickle bitch, with a very short attention span!"

Jack and Anne were startled, but nevertheless, began to dance, with Anne leading. "Do you know anything about dancing?" whispered Anne.

"Nope." replied Jack.

"Damn."

So, the pair danced as best they could. Anne, the more experienced, had to help Jack, and guide him through the steps. More than once, though, he accidentily stepped on her foot, to her increasing dismay. Soon, she got a bit angry at Jack's ineptitude, and got careless. She was helping him through a complicated series, when he misstepped, and actually fell off the stage. "You clumsy fool!" she yelled, annoyed. She was still seething when she heard: "AHAHAHA!" Cohen was laughing! "Bravo, bravo! The hero, portrayed in such an insulting light! Ahahaha!" Cohen fell over, clutching his sides with laughter. Anne, seeing her chance, dove at Sander and held him down with all her might. "Hey!" he shouted, "Let go of me, you bitch!" Bob sprang from the piano, and rushed over to untie Claire. Jack managed to help himself up, and helped hold Cohen down.

"How dare you!" Cohen screamed, "Such an anticlimax! Have you no respect for the arts?!" Cohen struggled to break free, but it was no use. His teleport Plasmid was nullified, because he was being held on to, and Jack and Anne's grips were vice-like. "Damn you!"

"Should we kill him?" asked Anne. Jack, surprised at Annes' violent question, said: "Well, I'd rather not, since Claire's here..."

"I have an idea." said Bob, "Take him to the lobby." Jack and Anne, unable to think of anything better, complied. Soon, they stood in the lobby near Cohen's masterpiece. Jack and Anne holding Cohen, Bob standing near Claire. "Jack, your chemical thrower, if you please." said Bob.

"Don't you already have one?" asked Jack.

"...Unfortunately, I got a little bit too trigger-happy with the liquid nitrogen, and froze the damn thing." admitted Bob, "So, give it." Jack reluctantly handed the weapon over. "Now, for something I've always wanted to do..."

"...You!" shouted Cohen, "You defiled my work! Do you know how long it took to scrub your graffitti off?!"

"Oh yeah?" Bob replied, "Scrub this." and with that, he let loose a torrent of napalm on the gruesome artwork.

"No! No! NOOOO!!!" screamed Cohen, his eyes dead set on his burning art. "Damn you! Damn you all to hell!" he simply sobbed as his work went to ashes. "Why?" he asked Bob, "Why must you make me suffer so?" to this, Bob replied: "This is revenge for all that you've done to me." Sander Cohen was confused for a moment, but recognition flashed in his eyes. "I know who you are!" he said, with hate drenching every word, "You're Fr-

"Silence!" Bob shouted, slapping Cohen across the face, "That name is dead to me!" This shut Cohen up. "Come on." said Bob, "Let's go. Leave him." The group walked away, leaving Cohen alone, kneeling in front of his ruined masterpiece. As soon as they were gone, he broke out sobbing.

"I'm Sander Cohen," he said hysterically, "This can't happen to me, I'm an artist, I'm Sander Cohen, what I make cannot be destroyed, I'm Sander Cohen, I'M SANDER COHEN,

**I'M SANDER FUCKING COHEN!**


	16. Of Rust And Rivets, part 1

**Hey there! This next arc is so long, it's in parts! Enjoy!**

* * *

The group clambered into the now- unbarred bathysphere, Anne cradling Claire in her arms. Bob pulled the lever, and away they descended to Hephaestus. There was a stonic silence for a while, until Jack decided to break the ice.

"So, Bob... you were kind of... sadistic back there."

"You have no idea what that man put me through." came Bob's reply.

"Well... what did happen?"

"...I don't want to talk about it. Not now."

"Fine." Jack was accepting of Bob's want for privacy. Claire, still a bit frightened, held Anne tightly.

The sphere was silent again for a while, gliding through the ocean's depths, until it finally reached the station. It ascended, and the group stepped out into the industrious area. "Claire, dear, are you able to get back to Ms. Tenenbaum by yourself?" asked Anne, still coddling the child.

"I... I think so." came Claire's reponse.

"Okay." Anne helped Claire climb into the Little Sister vent, and said goodbye to the child. "Be careful." she added. "You too, Ms. Spider." replied Claire as she disappeared into the vent.

Anne walked back to the other members of the group, "Well," stated Jack, "Now that Claire is safe, I guess we can focus on helping Atlas."

"...*bzzt*...You're damn right you can, lad!" came an unexpected response.

"Atlas?!" said Jack, startled. He picked up his radio and examined it.

"Yes, it's me." said the Irishman.

"Why didn't I hear from you earlier?" questioned Jack.

"Because you've been pressin' the damn mute button, ya fool!" This was true; Jack had put the radio at an awkward angle, and the button had become stuck. Only recently did the button become unstuck. "Er, sorry, Atlas." replied Jack sheepishly.

"Whatever, lad, just kill that damn bastard Ryan, would you kindly?"

"Yes. On my way." said Jack. This got Jack a funny look from Anne and Bob. "Jack, are you feeling alright?" asked Anne, worried.

"What was that? Is someone with you?" the radio said suddenly. Jack looked at Anne and Bob, and saw that Anne was shaking her head _No. _

"No... No one's here but me." lied Jack.

"Good." replied the radio. "Now go. Ryan'll pay for what he did." the radio crackled off at that point. Now, Jack turned towards Anne and Bob. "What's with the stares?" he asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

"Jack..." said Anne, "your eyes looked... souless, for a second." Jack was silent for a moment. "That's ridiculous." he replied, then began walking away.

"Hey, wait up." said Anne, catching up to him. "What's the matter with you? You normally aren't this impatient."

"I really need to get to Ryan." he responded. Anne looked worried, but followed him, as did Bob. They made their way through the workshops and stations, past the pipes and pulleys, over the oil and ocean water, until they reached the core. "Wow." remarked Jack, as he eyed the huge power device, "That must cost a pretty penny."

"No, really?" Bob replied sarcastically, "And here I thought one was provided free-of-charge. Guess I was wrong."

Jack gave an annoyed grunt for his reply, but ignored him nonetheless. The trio made their way down the stairs, when Jack spotted a Circus of Value machine. "Oh, wait, I need some things." he told the Splicers. He walked up to the machine, and was a bit surprised (although relieved) that it did not blare its annoying greeting at him. He inserted the money, made his selection, and stared as a live grenade was dropped at his feet. "........What." BOOM went the frag, exploding and sending Jack flying across the room (if you can call that cliff-thing a room), and he blacked out.

.

.

.

"-ack? Jack? Can you hear me, Jack?" Anne's voice faintly registered in his head. He managed to get a low groan out of his body in response.

"Good, he's alive. Com'on, Jackie, we don't have all day!" Jack opened his eyes and saw Anne looming over him, her face showing a mix of worry, impatience, and some humor. After pulling himself up, Jack looked at the accursed machine. "I hate you. So much." As if in reply, the machine issued its trademark laugh- but in a slow, almost maniacal tone, as if it was mocking him. Jack, now infuriated, walked up to the machine, and gave it his most powerful kick. Rather than feeling better about himself, he recieved great dismay as the machine deposited not one, but fivelive fragmentation grenades at his feet. "WHAT THE FUC-" KABOOOM!" went the grenades. This time, the only thing left of Jack was a black scorch mark on the floor (and his corpse, now embedded into the wall.) Bob and Anne waited patiently for a few minutes, then saw Jack desending the stairs from the nearest VitaChamber. Anne greeted Jack: "Have you learned your lesson?"

"Yeah, find the bastard who made these stupid machines and kill 'im."

"I meant about logic, but that works too. Come on, let's go."

So, the trio continued on to Ryan's office. When they reached the Entrance Hall, they were shocked. Splicers were impaled on every column, save for one. Also, a giant machine was blocking the door. "Wow," said Bob, looking at the Splicers, "Impressive handywork. Intimidating." Jack was too shocked to say anything. Anne was disgusted. "What a barbarian." she said. Suddenly, a voice crackled to life on the radio.

"I am no mere barbarian, "came the voice of Andrew Ryan, "They are simply those who would dare defile what beauty lay around them. They are parasites, each and every one of them. There is a spot for you, too, on the wall, if you are so inclined. You but only have to ask..."

"What a gutless wonder." remarked Bob, "Hiding behind a door, and threatening us? How weak."

"Well, I don't see what's stopping us." said Jack, walking up to the circuit breaker.

"Jack, that's obviously a tr-" too late, came Anne's warning.

"Gah!" screeched Jack, as a powerful electric shock passed through him. He stood dazed, for a second, but then fell over.

"Jack!" Anne shouted, rushing towards him, "Are you okay?" Bob looked over with mild interest.

"I'm fine... I think." Jack grunted. "Thank god for Electric Flesh..."

"Jack, I... I.... pfft! HaHaHa!" Anne laughed.

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"Your hair, Jack! You look like a porcupine!" She couldn't control herself and fell over laughing. What she said was true; the shock he recieved had fried his hair, making it stand on end. Jack was a bit cross at what had happened. Ryan, however, could care less.

"How dare you fools try to disturb this undersea world!" roared Ryan's voice, "Look around you. Do you see it failing? Do you see it, Rapture, giving up the ghost? I thought not... This is because Rapture is rising! This Paradise can, and will, be rebuilt! And if I have to kill a few more... parasites, to facilitate the process... so be it. Remember, you chose this... You have no one to blame but yourselves...*bzzt*..."

The radio went silent as Jack and the rest of the team stared. Suddenly, they saw cutting sparks on the doors. It was obvious that hostiles were trying to cut their way in.

"Any ideas?" asked Bob.

"Kill 'em all." replied Jack.

Just then, the doors were finished being cut, and the slabs of metal fell down to reveal a horde of Splicers, at least twenty heads back.'

"Well," concluded Bob, "We're Fucked."

* * *

**END OF PART ONE.**

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**Oh! Almost forgot! I would like to put a very special mention in here. Thanks to MurderJunkie, my sub character Jacob (remember chapt 10?) now has a story! Go read it, it's called Hell under Glass. Okay?... Seriously, read it. now. or I will steal Andrew's pheromones and make that Splicer horde come after you. Serious.**

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**Read AND Review, please!**


	17. Of Rust And Rivets, part 2

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**Hellooooooooooooo, everybody! Did you miss me? Sorry about taking so long, writer's block is _such _a sonuva...bridge. Yes, it's a sunuvabridge. Yeah, that works.  
****Next Item: Curse you, ruff1298, for your ability to make me unable to think about any other conclusion!  
Next Item: Go read MurderJunkie's story, NOW.****  
Anyway, on with the words!**

* * *

Claire always felt a little scared about the pipe system. _It's so dark... and spooky, _she thought as she clambered through the darkness. "I wish Miss Spider was here... or Mister Jack. He's nice, too. But not Mr. Meanie. I don't like him that much. He's mean. Not like Ms. Tenenbaum. Or like... Mr. Bubbles?" she said aloud, surprised. She stopped, and sniffed the air thoroughly. No doubt about it- it was an odor as pungent as that of a wet sheepdog- It was "Mr. Bubbles".

Claire was ecstatic at her discovery. "I know Ms. Spider wanted me to go straight home, but... I think it'll be okay if I see Mr. Bubbles. He'll protect me!" she concluded, following the scent through the myriad of pipes. When she finally got to the point where the smell was the strongest, she found a vent that she had never seen before. Glimpsing out of it, she was amazed at what she saw. On a table was a Mr. Bubbles, but it was one unlike any she had saw before. It had a face with only two portholes, and attached to its arm was not a drill, but a launcher of some sorts. "Oooh..." she murmured, "He's the biggest Mr. Bubbles ever!" She was still awestruck when she saw a shadow approaching, and hid herself quickly. Even though she couldn't see who it was, she could still hear it speak:

"Someday, you Frankenstinian monster, you will protect a new generation of Sisters. You will be bigger, tougher, and stronger than your brothers. You shall not fall like they have- at the hands of an enemy. That reminds me- I may have to do something about this... Jack character."

_Does she mean Mr. Jack? _Claire thought.

"He has proved himself instrumental in the process of removing Ryan from his throne of power, but after this... I do not know. He cannot be allowed to oppose me, so I may have to... remove him from the equation. A regrettable choice, but none other exist... Now, where did I put that formula?" the shadow concluded, moving away and out of sight.

"She's going to hurt Mr. Jack?" Claire said worriedly, "I can't let this happen! ...But I'm just one little girl. What can I do, all by myself?" she said, downtrodden. After a moment's thought, however, her attitude changed. "Wait a minute..." she said with growing realization, "I'm not _really _alone..."

The Rumbler (You all know what it is. Don't be dumb.) awoke with all the grace a being like it could muster; it fell off the table. Claire, a bit startled after seeing something so large fall over with just a single touch, tentatively reached out to the metal monstrosity's hand. Just when she felt her fingers connect to the cold steel, she was surprised when the Big Daddy twitch. Slowly but surely, the metal man rose to his feet. Once he was at full height, she once again grasped his hand. The Rumbler looked at Claire with curiosity, like that of a baby with a new toy.

"Come on, Mr. Bubbles..." Claire began, hoping it would work. "We need to go."

_Rumbler's POV_

It did not know what to make of this. It simply did not know. But part of it, somewhere deep, down inside of it, said "Protect this girl, no matter what." So, it complied with this urge, and raised the girl onto its back.

_Claire's POV_

_Whee! _Claire thought as she was raised onto the Rumbler's back. "Okay, now... uh... Go that-a-way, Mr. B!" she commanded, pointing to a set of doors. _I reeeally hope they go somewhere. S_he thought as the Rumbler went the way she pointed, surprising her by gently opening the doors, rather than smashing them. "Now..." Claire wondered, "Where are we?"

_Narrator (^_^) POV_

The next fifteen minutes or so were then spent trying to locate a map of some sorts, which was only accomplished by accidentally finding a Rapture Metro Help Station. "I remember seeing a big sign near where I was with Mr. Jack and Ms. Spider." Claire recalled, "It was Ryan Indus... Ryan Inguts... Ryan Inddut... Ryan something!" she exclaimed, exasperated. After some intense remembering, she located it on the map (It wasn't too hard, actually. It was like it was designed for a six-year-old) she discovered that it wasn't too far from where the big, red, you-are-here sticker was. In fact, it was a short walk away. Pointing to the spot on the map, Claire asked the Rumbler: "Can you take me here, Mr. B?" The Rumbler took a moment to stare at the map, and then set off, thundering through the halls.

A short while later, the duo came across a hall filled with debris. Claire began to frown, but the Rumbler stopped for a second. A few moments later, it set Claire down a few feet away, much to her confusement, and then stared at the rubble pile. Claire was about to say something when it launched a rocket at the debris, blowing it up. Claire was happily surprised, but when she looked over at the Rumbler, she was shocked. Here, the force of the rocket launching had bowled the Big Daddy over, essentially sweeping it off it's feet. As comedically hilarious as this might sound, Claire was still a bit worried. She ran over to the Big Daddy, hoping that it was okay. Fortunately, it was, getting back onto it's feet in a few seconds. "Wow, Mr. Bubbles, I've never seen anyone do THAT before!" she said excitedly, "I'll bet Mr. Jack will be impressed!" At this, the Rumbler seemed... curious, almost confused. (If you call the theatrically-known move of tilting its head to the side, confused) "Mr. Jack is a friend. Just like Ms. Spider. Mr. Jack and Ms. Spider are both friends." The Rumbler seemed to accept this, as it proceeded to pick up Claire and continue onward.

It wasn't too long before they arrived at Ryan Industries (Claire: "So THAT'S what it was!") It wasn't too hard for them to figure out which way to go; they just followed the bodies. They ventured deeper into the complex, passing the carnage and death, until they came across a sign pointing to Ryan's office. "This guy seems important," Claire announced, "Maybe we should head there!" The Rumbler complied, and headed in that direction. Soon, Claire could see some strange shadows huddled in the corner. "What's that?" She asked, pointing to them. They must have heard her, since they then stepped forward and revealed the faces that she had learned to fear:  
"Bad guys, Mr. B! Kill them!"  
The Rumbler let out a thundering roar, and attacked.

**END OF PART 2

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**

**Well, what did you think? Like it? _Leik _it? Anyways, read and review, and I'll get started on the next chappie.**

**Bye!**


	18. Of Rust And Rivets, part 3

After what had seemed like forever to them, Jack and Co. were both relieved and puzzled to see the last of Andrew Ryan's splicers fall. Relieved of course, to see their foes defeated; puzzled, because the last few enemies had been dispatched _by someone other than them._

"Hello?" Jack called out blindly, unsure of from where this assistance had come from, and unsure of the situation, "Er, thanks for the help." No response came back to him.

"Who do you think it is?" Anne whispered over towards Bob.

"I got no idea," Bob replied whilst clutching his shotgun, hands jittery on the gauge, "But I'm ready for whoever it is."

Jack, at this point, was internally debating whether or not to investigate who it was. The lack of further conversation from Anne, Bob, or Jack created a silence that was of stark contrast to the vicious battle that had only taken place minutes before.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...For the love of..." Bob muttered angrily, "GET ON WITH IT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Bob!" Anne hissed, startled, "Stop it! We don't want to scare them away!"

"Oh?" came his rebuttal, "And how, exactly, do you know that we don't?"

"Because if we did, we would have left by now! But thanks to you, they may-" _Thump._ The unmistakeable sound interrupted Anne's tirade. _Thump._ It was slightly louder.

_Thump._ Closer now.

_Thump!_ Really close.

_THUMP!_

_GROOOOOAAAANNNNNN..._ The whale-esque moan filled the room, dwarfing any other sound out completely, as the metal monstrosity made it's way directly in front of our trio of heros.

"A..." Jack was flabbergasted, "A... Big Daddy?" Thousands of thoughts raced across his mind as he stared at the metal "Man": _What does it want? Why did it help us? Why is it here? Does it have a Little Sister? Is she in danger? Was she in danger? Are we in danger? How will we fight it? Do I have enough ammo? And WHY does it have a rocket launcher?_

"Umm..." Jack slowly found his voice, "Thanks... Thanks for your help?"

"You're welcome, Mister Jack!" came a cheerful reply that completely blindsided Anne, Bob and Jack. Their faces went into shock when they heard that familiar, squeaky voice.

"Claire!" Anne chortled out, shocked.

"Hi, everyone!" the child spoke gleefully as she popped up from behind the Daddy's back.

Anne was dumbfounded for a moment, but then regained her composure. "What are you doing here, Claire? We sent you back to Ms. Tenenbaum! And who is... this?" she motioned to the Big Daddy that Claire was riding.

"Well... I was going back but..." she smiled a sheepish grin, "I kinda... got a little lonely. So I found Mr. B, and I was really happy, but then I heard that someone was gonna do something bad to you, and we kinda got lost, and then..." Claire continued to describe her adventures with the Rumbler with the enthusiasm only a child could have. Bob, meanwhile, was burying his fac into his hand while Jack couldn't help but smirk. Anne, however, was losing patience.

"...And then he fired a rocket, and it went KABOOM!, and then he..."

"...Claire, sweety?"

"...And then he..."

"Cla-ire..."

"...And it went POW! and..."

"Claire!" Anne bellowed.

"And it- what?"

"I think we understand, sweety." Anne said, charmingly.

"Oh. Okay!"

"So, um, what now?" Bob asked.

"What do you mean, what now?" We have to... huh..." Jack replied, confused, "You know, I could have sworn that I knew just a second ago, but for the life of me, I can't seem to recall..."

"I think that we... no, wait..." Anne added, joining into the befuddlement. "It seemed like just a few minutes ago when Atlas told you to go do... something."

"Oh, right, Atlas!" Jack realized, "We can ask him! He'll know!" Pulling out the service radio that somehow never seemed to go out of range, he pressed the 'transmit' button and spoke: "Hey, Atlas, you there?"

"...Yeah, I'm here, lad," the radio crackled, "What's happening?"

"Quick question: What were we doing again?"

"...what do you mean, what were we doin' **YE'RE SUPPOSE' TA' BE KILLIN' THAT BLOODY F***ING RYAN FER KILLIN' ME BLOODY F***ING FAMILY!**" the radio screeched into his ear. Jack leaned away, eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Right. Um, thanks."

"How in bloody hell do ya' forget something like that..." Atlas's voice trailed off.

_"WE-LL"_, said Bob, breaking the silence that had formed, "Now that that's out of the way, we can-"

"Miss Spider?" called the child from atop the lumbering behemoth.

"Yes, dear?" replied Anne.

"What does 'F***ing' mean?" Claire asked with all the innocence of an angel.

Now, this unexpected utterance of profanity, as you might expect, caused our trio of heroes to perform three different actions, simultaneously: Anne's eyes went as wide as saucer plates, Jack facepalmed with the force to knock a Big Daddy off balance, and Bob began to just laugh hysterically. Claire, meanwhile, remained as innocent and oblivious to the situation as ever.

"Da-Da-Dearie… Tha-That's not a w-word you should u-use." Anne chortled out, shakily.

"But why? What's so bad about-"

"Don't!" Anne interrupted.

"But why?"

"Because it is"

"But why?"

"Because I said so."

"But why-y?"

"BECAUSE I…"

As the conversation degraded into the child's tactic, Jack couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, irony." He thought, "Now you can taste the annoyance, Anne!"

The back-and-forth continued for a while.

Still went on.

Yup, still goin'.

Good Lord.

"ENOUGH!" Bob shouted, breaking the tirade of why's and because's. "Can we PLEASE get back to killing something already! Seriously, this is STUPID!"

The air grew quiet, and it seemed like Bob's outburst had worked. That was, until a small whimpering sound could be heard. It was Claire. She had started to cry.

Of course, the important thing to take form this is that she had a Big Daddy with her. And, upon hearing this, it began to get mad. Very mad. Bruce-Banner mad.

And this, of course, was directed at Bob. Bob's face upon realizing this fact was one of surprise, horror, disappointment, apathy, and gloom. Put simply, his face was one you might have when saying, "Well, F***." Which was, incidentally, the exact words he said as her saw a rocket launcher being leveled at himself.

"He's sorry!" exclaimed Jack, jumping in front of Bob and raising his hands in an apologetic fashion, "He's really sorry! He promises he'll never do it again," he bluffed with an uneasy smile.

"Bullsh-" Bob began, but Jack cut him off.

"Never again, _right?_" Jack stretched out the last word like taffy.

"…yeah, yeah, whatever. I _promise_ to _never_ say it again." Bob responded in a completely sarcastic tone, earning him glares from Jack and Anne.

Now, as you expect, this did not appease the Daddy one bit. His girl was crying, damn it, and he'll get retribution! But… what did stop him, though, was that Claire _had_ stopped crying.

"…_sniff_… r-really?" came the child's meek reply.

"Oh, _yes_, my _dear_ child." Bob was really laying on the sarcasm now, "You have my word, I'll _never_ utter such _foul_ profanity again."

Claire, of course, was oblivious to the sarcasm, and earnestly replied: "…Okay, Mr. Meanie. I believe you."

Jack, who was immensely enjoying Bob being taken down a peg, decided to step into the conversation, "Now, say that you're sorry, Bob."

This stopped Bob dead in his tracks. He shot Jack a, "Are you f***ing kidding me," glare, but Jack only laughed and continued, "Go on, Bob. Say, 'I'm sorry, Claire.'"

"Are you outta you fu…" Bob's voice drained mid-insult, remembering what he had promised Claire, that Claire's happiness depended on his fulfillment of that promise, and whether or not a rocket was fired in his direction depended on that happiness.

"Grr…" he fumed, but saw no alternative.

"…"

"…claireimsorry…" he said quickly.

"What was that?" Anne asked playfully, putting one of her hook-hands to her ear in a display of mock-deafness, "I can't _hear_ you!"

"…CLAIREI'MSORRY!" came to peeved response from the Splicer.

For a moment, Jack worried over if Claire would take offense to the shouting, but this proved to be unfounded: she was laughing!

"Heehee… you're funny, mister meanie!" she said giddily.

"Now, like I said before, can we _PLEASE_ go do something else!" came Bob's long-delayed question.

"Yeah… Yeah! We need to keep moving! Onward!" Jack replied, strangely enthusiastic.

"Let's go, Mr. B!" shouted Claire as she clung to the Rumbler's back, despite Anne's best efforts at convincing her to get down, as she pointed a tiny finger forward over its shoulder. And so the group set off.

It wasn't long before Claire noticed the Daddy eyeing Bob suspiciously, rocket launcher at the ready. "Don't worry, Mr. B." she cooed, "He's not so bad once you know him. He's kinda nice, in a way." Claire's words did have an effect, as she saw the Daddy calm a little, though not enough to warrant the switching of the launcher from 'standby' to 'off'. He still did not trust this one yet, this 'friend'.

Not yet.

**END OF PART 3**

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**Author's notes: **

**Boy, this is a doozy.**

**Well guys, I'm back. I'm sorry for the... what is it now, 5... 6 month delay? Excuses, I have none. It's just... well... I kinda lost interest for a while. Add a little 'Work Assignments due URGENT' here and a little 'Holy crud, I feel like sitting on a couch and becoming the blob' there, and you have a pretty good idea of what it's been like. **

**Of course, I could never forget about you guys.**

**So, I'm proud to say I'll be getting back on track with the updates!**

**(...right after I replay the game first...)**

**But don't worry, I'll be sure to FINISH this, definitely.**

**In the meantime, happy reading!**

**(Oh, and go read MurderJunkie's story as well.)**


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